A one-day post-symposium excursion in Transylvania will be organised on Saturday 30th of September, and will include a visit at the famous Turda salt mine and a hiking tour in the Trascău Mountains.
The Turda salt mine
The salt mine in Turda (~ 35 km south-east of Cluj-Napoca) is unquestionably one of the Transylvania’s top attractions. The salt sedimented here is 13–14 million years old and has been continuously exploited since the Roman occupation of Dacia (on the current territory of Romania). Today, the museum is a vast cavity with a unique microclimate which arrays ancient equipment for salt exploitation and a panoramic view over the internal salt lake.
Click here for further details about the salt mine.
The Trascău Mountains (Apuseni Mts.)
The Apuseni Mountains are located inside the Carpathian arch, have relatively low elevations (max. 1850 m a.s.l.) and a highly diverse geology. Along their eastern border at the contact with the Transylvanian Basin, the Trascău Mountains are characterised by steep calcareous cliffs with sub-thermophilous microclimate and specific vegetation. Found at the base of Piatra Secuiului limestone cliffs, one of the iconic relief forms of the Trascău Mts., Rîmetea is a Hungarian ethnic village with a charming and well-preserved architecture.
Click here for further details about the Trascău Mountains.
Planned scheme for the post-symposium excursion:
- Departure from Cluj-Napoca (08:00 a.m.)
- Arrival to Turda town (08:45 a.m.). A guided tour inside the salt mine (around 1 h 30 min.)
- Departure from Turda salt mine (11:00 a.m.)
- Arrival in Rîmetea village by bus (12:00) and lunch break. A ca. 6 h hiking trip on the Piatra Secuiului limestone cliffs (around 600 m altitudinal gain), with a nice view over the village, the eastern border of the Apuseni Mountains and the Transylvanian Plateau. The vegetation is dominated by Sesleria rigida grasslands on rocky habitats, with limestone-specific endemics to be found in late summer, such as Helictotrichon decorum, Sorbus dacica, Thymus comosus, Viola jooi
- Return to Cluj-Napoca (evening, around 20:00)
